Beeple's $69M NFT Sale - A Story of Consistency
Beeple's massive NFT sale is a lesson in consistency and getting better everyday.
The graphic artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, just sold an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) for $69,000,000 dollars at a Christie's auction.
An NFT is a piece of digital artwork that is minted on a blockchain to prove ownership. Google the term and you'll find a ton of information about NFTs because they are super hot right now.
As a crypto guy, I can go into a diatribe about why NFTs are valuable and how they are changing the game for artists and creators. I won't.
I think there's another lesson to be learned here - one about consistency and getting better everyday.
The NFT that Beeple sold is called "EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS" and is a compilation of all of the digital art pieces he has created over 5,000 consecutive days of work. That's nearly 14 years of working every single day!
This resurfaced a lingering suspicion I've been thinking about - that the path to success isn't necessarily dependent on talent, skill, or smarts.
I think success is much more about consistency and practice.
Certainly, having some natural talent plays a role.
But you can have a high level of talent and poor work ethic, and your skills would be wasted without consistent practice.
You can read all the books, go to school for years and years, watch YouTube videos, and get wicked smart on some topic. But if you don't put all of this knowledge to use, and do so frequently and consistently, you're just not going to realize your potential.
Quality comes from quantity.
Now, do as I say, not as I do. I have a long way to go to achieve consistency.
Take a look at this sad, sorry blog. My last post was in May 2020, almost one year ago.
And take a look at my Twitter feed. I struggle to tweet just once a day.
Granted, I have been very busy with my crypto consulting clients, my family, and other projects. I am learning and getting better everyday, just not necessarily via posting to my personal blog or Twitter.
There was one time where I blogged for 40 days straight. I wasn't writing anything ridiculously substantial or high-quality (I rarely do, ha). I was just spitballing about my startup, family, and anything else that crossed my mind. Within those 40 days, I was motivated, excited to write, and probably got more blog traffic than any other period of time I've been blogging.
Consistency compounds on itself. You get into a rhythm, and eventually you don't want to disappoint yourself by breaking the streak. I really felt that motivation when I blogged for 40 days straight.
Now back to Beeple.
I had never heard of Beeple before this recent NFT craze. He has done a lot of work for musicians and big brands, so I'm sure he was doing just fine financially before his big NFT scores. But not $69M fine.
My guess is that at some point during his EVERYDAYS streak, it became second nature for Beeple to create everyday. There may have been days where he was lazy and unmotivated, but powered through to keep the streak alive.
That consistency has paid off for him in a big way.
The fact that Beeple's biggest win was not a new piece of work, but a culmination of all his work from producing and getting better every day, is an amazing lesson in how important consistency is to success.
Maybe in another 14 years, he'll create "EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 10000 DAYS" and sell it for much more. I certainly hope so.